Chapter 712 - Rumors

Her decision disappointed many fans who were looking forward to seeing her on the red carpet. They were eager to see what kind of couple outfits she and Roy would wear to captivate fans on the red carpet. However, she didn't show up at all! How were they supposed to leave messages under her Facebook posts, accusing her of torturing small animals (single dogs)?

Fortunately, everyone knew she was working on the final production of the movie. With the summer blockbuster season just around the corner, time was running out.

However, as the summer blockbuster season approached, a rumor, seemingly originating from nowhere, quietly spread across various communication platforms.

"The Lord of the Rings" is a pure Western fantasy story, yet Laila chose to shoot in the East and even cast an Eastern actor in a significant role. Can a movie produced in this way be what everyone expects?

"That's right. I've heard Laila is fascinated with the East, and she can even speak fluent Eastern languages herself. But is it appropriate to incorporate her preferences into movie production? This way, she's ruining an excellent and magnificent film!"

Similar comments criticizing Laila's use of Eastern scenes and actors appeared frequently. Most of them criticized Laila for using Eastern elements in a Western fantasy movie, without directly touching on the topic of potential racial discrimination.

Surprisingly, there were quite a few supporters of these viewpoints.

Especially the original fans of the work were very concerned about the movie. They were the least willing to see this literary masterpiece being randomly tampered with by a director.

When they learned that Laila had acquired the rights to the movie, some people expressed concerns. Yes, Laila was undoubtedly one of the best directors in Hollywood, producing many exciting and profound films. However, looking at the movies she directed, there was only one like "Chicago," while more were big-budget special effects blockbusters.

One could say she was the most successful commercial film director in Hollywood. But "The Lord of the Rings" was a great classic in the hearts of book fans. They couldn't allow someone to defile it, let alone turn it into a tool for making money, into a commercial film filled with special effects and handsome actors and beautiful actresses!

At first, this topic subtly emerged, but it quickly gained momentum and seemed poised to dominate all discussions. Laila was certain there were people behind the scenes pushing this.

However, after hearing the reports from Demi and Louise, Laila couldn't immediately identify the possible mastermind. It wasn't that there were no clues, but there were too many, and randomly mentioning them could generate a long list of names.

The most likely culprits were undoubtedly the competitors in the summer blockbuster season. Most of the major films were produced by large film production companies. It was too easy for these companies to hire some online trolls to attack other movies. Given the direct financial interests involved, everyone had a motive.

The remaining suspects were probably Laila's detractors. She couldn't please everyone, and with fans and haters, any action she took could be seen as disagreeable.

There were also those media outlets that had always been against her, using the ongoing media war with her to generate revenue.

Debates created topics, and topics attracted attention. Every time there was a conflict with Laila, their newspapers, magazines, or shows gained higher visibility. The "Anti-Laila Alliance," mainly led by Cooper and the New York Post, would eagerly go down the path of criticizing Laila whenever there was a chance.

"Don't bother with these." After pondering for a moment, Laila told Demi and Louise, "Let's see how things develop for now."

Louise frowned. "The Eastern scenes are manageable, but should we address the issue with that Eastern actor?"

"No need." Laila wouldn't cut Leslie Cheung from the movie, even if it meant delaying the release. When she invited him, she had anticipated such a situation. The surprise this time was that the opposition wasn't just based on his identity as an Eastern actor but also on the claim that the work itself was Western fantasy literature.

Indeed, having an Eastern actor play a Western character might seem problematic, but Laila didn't see it that way. While the story was Western fantasy, who said the various races in Western fantasy had to look like Westerners? Haven't they seen the various races and appearances in the book?

She didn't make such a change, but theoretically, turning an entire race into Eastern-looking people wasn't impossible.

For example, if at the beginning, blue was called red, then the red passed down would refer to what is now blue. In other words, if one race in the book originally looked Eastern, who could say they weren't that race?

So, Laila was too lazy to deal with the noisy discussions outside. Let them say what they wanted; if it became too tiring or boring, they would stop. Moreover, considering the movie was still more than three months away from release, there wasn't any groundbreaking topic in the entertainment industry that could last that long.

Laila believed that once the movie was released, fans would only be obsessed with the story, and they wouldn't have time to think about Eastern scenes and actors. Her confidence stemmed from her trust in the Eastern landscapes and Leslie Cheung's acting skills. The Eastern scenery was just that beautiful and dreamlike, and Leslie Cheung's acting was excellent and admirable.

If, after watching the movie, people still nitpicked their appearance in the film, Laila believed that more discerning individuals would see the malicious intentions behind the water army's mud-slinging.

"I heard that the original book fans are planning a protest against the movie. If they go ahead with it, won't it be somewhat detrimental to our future promotion?" Louise has always admired Laila's confidence, but the problem was she couldn't do the same! She couldn't remain as calm in this situation as Laila. As soon as those critical comments came out, her anxiety skyrocketed, fearing that something even more unfavorable for the movie would surface at any moment.

Remember, this was a three-hundred million-dollar investment! Plus, the promotional expenses might not even be enough with an estimated five hundred million.

They had followed Laila for so many years and had seen her generosity in investments before. But this time was different. Even for them, abruptly putting out so much money for an investment raised concerns.

They had earned a good amount from previous movies, but each aspect of the company's operation and development required a lot of money. The special effects production company was like a bottomless pit; no matter how much money was poured in, it could swallow it all.